Researchers in Slovenia have described results from a long-term, national Clostridioides difficile food surveillance project. Positive results were found in meat, fresh produce and poultry.
The three-year period of testing revealed a low proportion of Clostridioides — formerly Clostridium — difficile contaminated food and high genotype variability. As the risk of infection associated with Clostridioides difficile contaminated food is unknown, no measures were recommended for positive results.
Because of an increasing association between Clostridioides difficile and food, in 2015, the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Sector and Plant Protection (UVHVVR) included it in national food surveillance. In Slovenia, the number of cases increased from 316 in 2013 to 665 in 2017.
Retail minced meat and meat preparations such as beef, pork and poultry were sampled from 2015 to 2017. They were collected at food markets and grocery stores in all Slovenian regions. Selected raw retail vegetables, leaf salads and root vegetables, and ready-to-eat salads were sampled during 2016 and 2017 and seafood only in 2017.
